The threat to lay off King Charles’s staff while the nation mourns is despicable
Among the many people across Britain mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II are those who work at Clarence House, the former official residence of the new King. Some of those staff have served for decades. So it’s incredibly cruel that for about 100 of these mourning workers, their service and commitment have been rewarded with potentialredundancy.
It’s a staggering misjudgment: staff are in profound shock. It’s simply unacceptable that they should be treated this way. To make matters worse, the notification was sent out during a thanksgiving service for the Queen in Edinburgh.
In the days since the Queen’s death, some unions have called off industrial action, including mine, the Public and Commercial Services Union(PCS), after our members asked us to do so. The Trades Union Congress annual conference, due to be held this week at a pivotal time for the labour movement, was also postponed. How can it be right that, while life for many in this country came to a temporary standstill, those in charge of Clarence House ploughed on with business as usual by sending out a redundancy notice to grieving workers?
It is to be expected that the ascension of a new monarch will bring with it significant changes, but the speed and way in which this has been carried out is appalling. There was no reason why consideration on these matters couldn’t have waited until after the Queen’s funeral had been held and the needs of the new Prince of Wales assessed.
The PCS members affected are rightly concerned and we have written to the King’s private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, demanding the redundancy notice be immediately withdrawn. We have made it clear that alternative options should be explored and he should engage in discussions with us.
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